Faces in the Crowd: Linda Becker

FACES IN THE CROWDNorthwest resident cooks up her own businessEntrepreneur follows her own recipe to success

MARY DAVIS, Chronicle Correspondent

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, September 2, 2004

Several years ago, Linda Becker of Copperfield attended her daughter's Brownie troop meeting at a tea room in Humble.

As the little girls were served afternoon tea in a Victorian setting, Becker's creative juices began to flow.

Today she owns Tea for Two restaurants, opening the first one in 1998 at Texas 6 and West Road in Copperfield and the other in 2003 at Louetta Road and Grant Road in the Lakewood Forest area.

To create her tea rooms, Becker searched and found an artist, Ann James, to decorate the restaurant, searched yard sales for items she could use and honed her family recipes.

"I kept buying and buying — and storing it in my garage," she said.

Becker settled on a Victorian garden look with roses and lattice, with a variety of china patterns to blend with the scene, although Becker points out the table motifs are more eclectic than matching.

But Becker said she knew the food would be the primary focus for success.

"I've always cooked," she said. "I started young. It was just something I always did. The most important thing is that the food has to be good."

Becker chopped and mixed and stirred and baked, then asked her family and friends to try the results.

She polished recipes for chicken salad, crepes, sandwiches and desserts.

Then she was ready to turn to the financial side for owning a business.

"I finally found a bank that would loan me the money," she said. "You pretty much put up everything you own."

On Aug. 4, 1998, with family and friends there for support, she opened her doors at the Copperfield location.

"I made everything that morning," she said. "I didn't know how many people to expect."

But to her surprise, a line had formed waiting for the doors to open.

"It was a good first day," she said.

However, she didn't take off her apron and retire to a rocking chair.

"I was looking at it that it was going to be fun," she said. "But after awhile I realized that it was catching on, and I started minding the business side ... it took me three years to pay off my loan and then things were a little easier."

By 2003, she felt secure enough to open the second tea room with a Victorian street scene backdrop.

As she began to succeed, people started calling her who were thinking of starting similar businesses.

"I talk to them and I'm very frank," she said."I tell them to double what you think you will spend."

Becker also recommends restaurant owners find a good recipe for patience needed for serving the public. She emphasizes the importance of recruiting loyal employees who she said have played a major role in her success.

She has begun thinking about opening a third location.

"I don't know what the future will bring," she said. "Everything happens the way it should."